Africa’s biggest lithium producer is overhauling how it exports one of the world’s most sought-after battery minerals, launching a new rail corridor that could lower transport costs and strengthen its position in the global electric vehicle supply chain.
Zimbabwe’s state-owned National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) said on Tuesday it had successfully partnered with private logistics companies to transport lithium concentrate by rail from the country’s southern mining region to the Port of Maputo in neighbouring Mozambique.
The move marks a significant shift for Zimbabwe’s lithium industry, which has relied largely on trucks to move the bulky mineral to export terminals, an expensive system often slowed by road congestion, border delays and rising fuel costs.
For global battery manufacturers, cheaper and more efficient logistics could improve the competitiveness of Zimbabwean lithium at a time when producers worldwide are battling weaker lithium prices and rising pressure to reduce operating costs.
The first shipment consists of 1,000 metric tonnes of lithium concentrate from Tsingshan Holding Group’s Gwanda Lithium Mine.
